Quick Take: Life's Too Short, "Pilot"
"I have AIDS." - Liam Neeson
Review: Life's Too Short, "Pilot"
(S0101) Ricky Gervais is my hero. He has said many times in interviews that he is lazy. He's a lazy actor, a lazy director, and a lazy comedian. His latest offering is a perfect example of his laziness.
It might not be fair to compare Life's Too Short to the earlier projects of Gervais and his partner Stephen Merchant but when the similarities are so glaring, it bears mentioning.
The first similarity is in the main character. The character of Warwick Davis is a cloying, self-conscious loser who is completely ignorant to the way the world sees him. In other words, he's a lot like David Brent. Even his style of speaking is reminiscent of Gervais' character and since the shows are shot in the same mockumentary fashion, it's impossible to ignore.
The other similarity comes in the character of Eric (Steve Brody), Davis' accountant. He's completely inept and has no social skills, much like Stephen Merchant's agent character on Extras. While Davis is working out his tax problems with his accountant, I find myself wondering why he would have somebody working for him that is so obviously bad at his job. This is precisely the same thing I thought during almost every episode of Extras.
With all that being said, the show is hilarious. It's clear that even a recycled version of a Gervais/Merchant project is funnier than most of the stuff on television.
One of my favorite parts of Extras was watching celebrities play heightened, ridiculous versions of themselves. Ben Stiller and Gordon Ramsey gave great performances and that tradition continues on Extras. Liam Neeson's short scene in the office was more entertaining than anything I've ever seen him do before and it takes a special kind of brilliance to convince the world that Liam Neeson is funny.
The only drawback I can see is that it might get tiring seeing Gervais and Merchant try to avoid Davis in every episode without him realizing that they don't want him around. I like a take to the camera as much as the next guy but I'm hoping I get a little more over the course of seven episodes.
"No quarter shall be asked for nor given." After Rob Roy, Neeson can do no wrong in my book... even if that book consists of quite a few chapters packed with mediocre action flicks these days.
I think Davis realizes they don't want him around but he's so desparate for work he doesn't care